13 



This will carry about 1.25 per cent, nitrogen, 4.5 per cent, phos- 

 phoric acid, and 2 per cent, potash, which used at the rate of two 

 tons per acre would furnish 50 pounds nitrogen, 185 pounds phos- 

 phoric acid, and- 80 pounds potash. 



Substitute for Barn Manure. 



Dissolve one bushel salt in enough water to slack five or six bushels 

 lime. The best method for preparing for composting is one bushel of 

 this lime to one load of swamp muck, though three bushels to five 

 loads is a very good manure. Mix well. 



In laying up the heap let layers of muck and lime be thin so that 

 decomposition will be more rapid and complete. Sprinkle salt water 

 on the lime as heat goes up. 



When lime cannot be obtained, use three or four bushels of un- 

 leached ashes to one cord muck. Turn in a month or six weeks. 



Home-made Guano. 



Save all fowl manure from sun and rain under cover. Spread a 

 layer of dry swamp muck and dump fowl manure on top of it. Beat into 

 a fine powder with back of spade, add hard wood ash and plaster 

 paris to make following proportions: 



Dried muck, 4 bushels. 



Fowl manure, 2 bushels. 



Ashes, 1 bushel. 



Plaster paris, 1J bushels. Mix well. 



A little before planting moisten with water or liquid manure. Mix 

 with soil when planting. 



While home mixing of fertilizers is less expensive than prepared 

 fertilizers, care must be exercised in the selection of the needed con- 

 stituents for two reasons; first, when certain materials are mixed 

 chemical changes take place in which a valuable material is lost, as 

 when lime and barn-yard manure are mixed, ammonia is given off; 

 and second, a change to a less available form occurs as, when lime and 

 super phosphate are mixed, the phosphoric acid is rendered less sol- 

 uble ; also, when potash salts and Thomas meal are mixed the product 

 is apt to cake and becomes hard to distribute evenly. For this reason 

 a German expert lays down the rule that lime and sulphate of am- 

 monia ; lime and super phosphate, lime and Thomas slag ; lime and 

 barn-yard manure; lime and nitrogenous guano, should never be 

 mixed. Nitrate of soda and Thomas meal ; nitrate of soda and lime ; 

 potash salts and lime; and potash salts and Thomas meal, should 

 never be mixed. Kainit and lime; and kainit and Thomas meal, 

 should never be mixed unless used at once. 



